The Present Disclosure relates, generally, to a connector and a cable assembly having the ability of preventing a flat cable from falling out of the assembly and, more specifically, to technology for preventing damage to a flat cable when the flat cable is pulled out strongly.
Conventionally, connectors may be used to connect flat cables such as Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC) and Flexible Flat Cables (FFC). Such connectors generally include a plurality of terminals lined up longitudinally and a molded housing for housing the terminals.
The connector disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,265, for example, has a reinforced molded metal fitting on each side of the terminals. Because the fittings in this connector are soldered to a circuit board in addition to the terminals, the mounting strength to the circuit board is increased. Further, a protrusion is formed on a longitudinal edge of the flat cable, and engages the connector. More specifically, a recessed portion is formed in the upper edge of the fitting, and the protrusion is arranged inside this recessed portion when the flat cable is connected to the connector. When a force acts to pull the flat cable out of the connector, the protrusion on the flat cable is caught by the metal fitting, and is prevented from coming out.
However, in the '265 Patent, the fittings are formed from metal, and the flat cable is molded with resin. As a result, the protrusion of the flat cable can easily be deformed when the flat cable is extricated. For this reason, a structure has been considered in which the flat cable is kept from coming out by a resin-molded housing, instead of a reinforced metal fitting. However, even in this structure, the portion of the housing hitting the protrusion of the flat cable can still be deformed when the flat cable is pulled out.